COMMENTARY/ANALYSIS: Hybrid icing has been instituted in the National Hockey League. Frozen Royalty’s take: Long overdue. What’s your take on the issue? Audio of Los Angeles Kings’ head coach Darryl Sutter’s thoughts about hybrid icing is also included.

EL SEGUNDO, CA — After experimenting with it in exhibition games this season, the National Hockey League has instituted hybrid icing for all games, effective this season.

For those who may not be aware of how hybrid icing differs from the “touch icing,” where players had to chase down the puck and touch it to get the linesman’s whistle to blow, here’s the text of the new icing rule:

Former Los Angeles Kings defenseman Marty McSorley met with the media on May 27, 2012, reminiscing about the
1993 Kings team that went to the Stanley Cup Finals,
and about his infamous illegal stick incident.
Photo: Gann Matsuda/FrozenRoyalty.net

EL SEGUNDO, CA — As most fans of the Los Angeles Kings know, one of the key factors in the Kings losing in the 1993 Stanley Cup Final to the Montreal Canadiens, was how they lost in Game 2 of the series.

Many point to the fact that Kings defenseman Marty McSorley was penalized in the waning minutes of the game for playing with an illegal stick—the curve of the blade exceeded that which was allowed by National Hockey League rules.

Leading 1-0 in the series, and 2-1 in Game 2, the Kings came unglued after McSorley went to the box. Their penalty-killers allowed Canadiens defenseman Eric Desjardins to walk in from right point, all the way down to the right face-off dot, completely unchecked. He then ripped a wrist shot past Kings netminder Kelly Hrudey at the 18:47 mark of the third period.

Desjardins scored again very early in the overtime period to give the Canadiens a 3-2 victory. Read more of this post

FROZEN ROYALTY EXCLUSIVE: It was not so long ago that the Los Angeles Kings dressing room and training room might have looked more like a hospital ward than anything else. After all, back in 2002-03 and 2003-04, they set unofficial records for man-games lost to injury. Retired head athletic trainer Pete Demers had to treat all those injuries, and Frozen Royalty takes a long, hard look back at those disastrous seasons, as well as more of Demers’ thoughts on the mechanics of injuries, their treatment, and their prevention. Part ten of a series.

FROZEN ROYALTY EXCLUSIVE — In Part nine of a series, Los Angeles Kings retired head athletic trainer Pete Demers shares more stories involving players, coaches and general managers he worked with during his long career.

LOS ANGELES — In a 41-year career in professional hockey, Los Angeles Kings retired head athletic trainer Pete Demers has certainly seen and heard enough to fill the pages of a good-sized book, sights and sounds that fans and even the media would virtually never have access to.

Whether it was the pre-game rituals some players adhered to game after game, the practical jokes, humorous stories, or just memories of the different characters in and out of the training room, Demers saw it all in 37 years with the franchise, beginning with three years with Springfield of the American Hockey League (the Kings’ minor league affiliate from 1967-75 and 1977-79) before he joined the Los Angeles Kings in 1972. Read more of this post

Former LA Kings defenseman Mattias Norstrom (center), was honored by the Kings
during a pre-game ceremony on October 30, 2010, when the Kings hosted
the New Jersey Devils at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Photo: Los Angeles Kings

LOS ANGELES — On a night in which the Los Angeles Kings handed the once-vaunted New Jersey Devils a 3-1 defeat, shutting down the mighty $100 million superstar Ilya Kovalchuk in the process, the Kings took time to pay tribute to their past, and to one of their own.

Former Kings defenseman Mattias Norstrom was back in Los Angeles on October 30, and was honored by the team during a pre-game ceremony.

“It is fun, it’s great being back,” said Norstrom, who played in 780 regular season games with the Kings over eleven seasons after being acquired in a trade with the New York Rangers on March 14, 1996. “I haven’t been back here for two-and-a-half years. The last time I was back was with the [Dallas] Stars in the Spring of ’08.”

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